Periodic patterning in materials deposition by self-regulating diffusion-reaction processes

To explain periodic patterning of materials as a result of self-organization caused via turing instability, a mechanism was proposed and validated through numerical simulations. Autocatalytic chemistry of the activator-inhibitor type to form a precursor followed by nucleation and growth was included in the model. Critical parameters affecting sharpness and deposit pattern formation included the critical concentration for nucleation, the diffusion of the growth precursor, and the growth rate. It was found that the proposed mechanism offered a possible explanation for the periodicity of TiO₂ bands formed in microporous Vycor™ glass.